Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Gurudev, Gurudev, what should I do when someone insults me in a group or in public? Is it correct to complain about that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

See, when someone insults you, what can you do? You cannot control everyone’s mouth. In such a situation, you have only two choices:1. You also behave in the same way and insult them. But that will not improve the situation in any way2. You simply smile at their ignorance. Just tell them that every person has the right to their ignorance and to display it as well, and then be quietSee, even if someone insults you, it does not stay forever. For a few moments someone says something unpleasant to you, and it reaches your ears. But it is all temporary, just like bubbles in water. These unpleasant things come and go.Who in the world has the time to stop and brood over these petty situations, or to keep thinking about someone else? So when such things happen, do not worry and get disturbed by them.

Q: Gurudev, Gurudev, I feel that people around me deceive me very quickly and easily. What pleasure do they get in doing such things?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Whether they deceive you sooner or later, how does it matter? I tell you, it is better they deceive and cheat you sooner than later. Being cheated later will bring more difficulties for you.

Listen, know that you are wise. Cheating someone is a two-way thing and takes two people to make it happen, just like clapping needs both your hands. If someone cheats and takes advantage of you, then it is also because you were not fully aware.If you are alert of what is happening around you, then how will they be able to deceive you? So you should stay alert.If you do not get carried away by emotions then who can cheat you? This applies even for your brother, sister, your own family and personal relationships. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. Emotions have their own place in relationships. But where you have to be intelligent and act wisely, there you should not get carried away by emotions. Be alert and take intelligent action. Then you will not get deceived, and you will see that even your relationships will become sweeter and more harmonious.

When people do not use their wisdom and act purely on the basis of emotions, then you will see that they quarrel over very trivial matters. We should not give anyone a chance to take advantage of us, or deceive us. How many of you here agree with me? (Many in the audience raise hands)If you have a lot of gold and money at home, keep it away in a safe rather than outside. If you carelessly keep it lying outside and your maidservant secretly steals something, then how can you blame her for it? It is your mistake in the first place. You should be wise and not keep it outside so that they do not get the tempted.

Q: Gurudev, Nowadays, a lot of incidents are happening on women. We say we are the country with the best culture, especially when it comes to respecting women, them why?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You are correct. We are not following the tradition at all. In the name of secularism, we are not following ethics at all. We have sterilized our education of all moral and ethical values, so our younger generation is becoming so self-centered and selfish, and not caring for others. This is one reason.

The second is female feticide. In many states, for every 100 males there are only 65 females. This is going to be dangerous. You can’t live in a society where the ratio of men to women is so high. We should ban sex determination in the womb. Whether boy or girl, what difference does it make? We must honor a boy baby and a girl baby as one and the same. So people should realize this and not abort a female fetus in the womb. If people realize this, then women will be safer because the ratio is what is alarming.

Q: Gurudev, Why don’t we introduce organic food instead of polished food for all of us here since we have got the knowledge of Ayurveda?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Do you know that all the food grown here at the ashram is organic? All the vegetables and the milk is organic; ghee is organic. Sometimes when we don’t get enough organic supplies, then we have to go for the regular one.

We need to educate the farmer to go all out into organic. There is a big disconnect between the growers and consumers.I have heard many farmers say that they grow organic food but there are no takers, and I have heard many people say that they are not getting organic food.We have already begun making the connect here between the farmers and the consumers.

Q: Gurudev, What is Yoga? How can it help bring peace?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yoga is a technique which unites the body, mind and spirit. Yoga relieves you from stress and tension. It is stress that causes weakness, anger, jealousy and all the negative emotions. When you get rid of stress using breathing techniques, meditation and some simple exercises, it helps your body and mind and creates a sense of well-being and happiness from inside. If you’re well and happy you will not be violent. When someone engages in violent activity, know that behind the violence there is anger and frustration.

We have all done yoga as kids. If you watch a child from the time it is born to the age of three, it would have done all the yoga exercises. The way a child breathes is different from the way an adult breathes. Breath is the link between the body and emotions and by attending to the breath you are able to soften the emotions and get rid of negative emotions.

Q: Gurudev, In India, there is a very well known river that is contaminated with germs, and the masters there say that if you’re interested in Hinduism or Buddhism then as a part of the rituals you have to go and have a bath in that dirty river. Can you tell us what really lies behind this?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Once upon a time the river Ganga had very pure water, and today our Prime Minister has taken up the job of cleaning the whole river which is considered very sacred. In India we honor the rivers, the trees, and the animals. Honoring the whole creation is a part of nature.Nowhere in any scripture it is said that one needs to take a dip in the water; or that it is a prerequisite for someone to do yoga and meditation. These are all rituals. As I said, rituals and practices are different. People cultivate rituals over a period of time but the main thing is to appreciate the values. Values is the knowledge.

In poems it has always been said, ‘Knowledge is like a river. If you assimilate knowledge, you will be happy, you will be liberated’, this is the real message. The river Ganga, which you mentioned to be polluted also means knowledge.In a simile it is said, 'If you are bathed in knowledge then you are free (here meaning liberated)'. But people literally take it as only if they bathe in the river will they be free. This is incidental or accidental, but the essence is living the values.

Q: Gurudev, Would you pressurize the religious leaders of the world, especially the Arab and Middle East countries to rescue the abduct, especially women and children? When we requested for the American government to send food, the answer they gave us was that they had to write to the government of Iraq and other neighboring countries to rescue the abduct.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

This is between government to government. They have many policies. As an NGO, we can do what we can do. I think it is not possible for us to interfere into the foreign policies of the government. We cannot make one government stand against the other; that will be perceived as not being friendly. I would suggest you write to various governments and bring to their notice the communities that need urgent help, and that we would like to receive direct help from those governments.

Q: Gurudev, We know that each religion has two aspects, one aspect is the beliefs and the other is rituals. Which one is the unifying and which is the dividing factor?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I would say religion has three aspects:1. Values2. Symbols and3. Rituals and practicesThe values seem to be the same amongst all religions, like brotherhood, oneness of God, love and compassion, serving the poor and needy. This is the spiritual aspect of religion.Second, is symbol. Every religion has symbols, holy places and books. Third is rituals and practices. There can be many different rituals.

What people usually do is, they leave the values and hold on to the rituals and symbols. This is where conflict arises. That is why I say, ‘Spirituality unites people, but religions can divide people'.If you see the major religions of the world, you will see that the Abrahamic religions come from the same source. It is like three brothers from the same family. But, there has been a lot of conflict.Other religions like Shintoism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, there has never been any conflict. The six religions of the Far East have always coexisted, and their rituals are completely different. Within Hinduism there are hundreds of sects, but there have never been any clashes. The basic rule is to respect and honor each other. It was the same with Islam. In Islam there are five different sects, or even more. There have been periods in history where they all coexisted peacefully. Even in Iraq, Shias and Sunnis coexisted.When conflicts arise, it latches on to religion much more than any other identity and then the whole problem starts. We should focus more on the spiritual values which can unite people of all religions.

I would like to tell you a happening in Japan. Once, President Nixon went to Japan and he wanted to meet all the religious leaders. On one side of him was seated a Buddhist monk and on the other side was a Shinto priest.President Nixon asked the Shinto priest, ‘What is the percentage of Shinto followers in Japan?’He said, ’80%.’He then turned to the Buddhist monk and asked him, ‘What is the percentage of Buddhist followers in Japan?’He said, ’80%.’The President couldn't understand how that was possible, but it is possible.Similarly, if you come to India, the Jain and Hindus have completely different sets of beliefs and rituals, but they live together with such harmony. Similarly, the Sikhs and the Hindus participate in each other's festivals and honor each other but never has there been any conflict. They never said, ‘Only I will go to heaven.’This is what the Middle East can learn from the Far East. Whether they are Yazidis, Christians, Muslims, Shias or Sunnis, Ahmedia or Sufi, they can all coexist. What is important is to honor the diversity.

Q: Gurudev, Gurudev, in the last five years the ashram has become like a fortress. It was easier in the older times to get peace in the ashram than now.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Be in the present moment and listen to the knowledge. In earlier days, there may have been a few people. Today there are more people. When more people are there, there is more possibility for you to share your knowledge and wisdom and gain patience.You should also grow. You cannot get stuck to what you were 30 years back. 30 years back you could interact with 10 people. Today, you may have to interact with 1000 people. So we should expand as time passes and not shrink into shells.

We have said, 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam' (one world family). We have accepted the whole world as our family. Then you should rise up to that idea. Feel at home with anybody and everybody. Don’t just focus on what is comfortable for you and what is not comfortable. You should get out of your comfort zone and bring comfort to others. This is most important.See as to how many people are comfortable with you. You can do a survey about yourself and see how many people you make happy and comfortable? If you dislike people, you will find you are not friendly.As we expand, we become friendly with people of different natures and different parts of the world. Sometimes, we feeling comfortable with people of our own state or country or religion. Here you have to mix with everybody. We have people of different faiths all here, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs. We have people from every state of India, right from the Northeast to Kerala, and right from Jammu to Tamil Nadu. We also have people from all over the world and everyone has their own mannerisms and food habits. So you need to learn and bring comfort to others. You have had enough peace, now it's better you give peace to others.

Q: Gurudev, Gurudev, getting love is painful and not getting it is even more painful, and maintaining love is also painful. So which pain should I choose?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Choice is yours blessing is mine. If you want to choose pain, you are most welcome, but I will tell you, choose the bigger pain as the small ones are of no use. Your love for the whole humanity, that’s what you should be concerned about. Love for the planets, love for the animals; animal rights (animals do have a right to exist). We have no right to take their life away. You worry about all these things.

Look into the eyes of the goats, or even the chicken, cows, dogs. Look into their eyes. This entire creation is filled with love, and how people can slaughter them to fill their little tummy. It is not even healthy. This is unfortunate.